Know Your Audience

Connecting with your audience is a big part of building a successful brand. Understanding who your audience is can be tricky. When clients say “Well, really, everyone is our audience” they are not being strategic about who they are engaging with.

Because it’s Christmas, let’s bring Santa into the conversation. A beloved character, he has a huge worldwide audience. But he’s not for everyone. Not even for all kids. Wait! What?

Check out the photo above. Poor William looks like he’d rather be anywhere but on Santa’s lap, but Parker is pleased as punch to be on his lap. I know you have all seen photos like this, and they are pretty hilarious! What’s going on here? And what does it have to do with branding and understanding your audience?

Even Santa needs to find the right audience, an audience who’s ready and willing to buy into his story. Parker knows, because he’s been told by his peers and by people who influence him (like his parents and teachers), that Santa will bring him gifts and treasures. Part of the deal is that Parker has to be good. So he’s sitting really still and answering Santa’s questions and really wants to engage with Santa. William, on the other hand, has no idea who this big fellow with the bright red suit and big bushy beard is. William isn’t ready to engage with Santa. However, I bet after a year of listening to stories and his big brother Parker talk about how awesome Santa is, William will be all smiles! Actually, I can assure you he was fully on board with Santa the following year.

To refocus and bring us back to branding, think about who your brand can engage with this year. Who will help you tell your brand stories and build your audience? Make sure you are talking to your audience, even if it’s small. Even better, share with them the talking points they need to know to help you broaden your audience.